Rockies In Position to Decide Own Fate in Post-Season Battle
The Rockies have 63 games remaining in the regular season.
Thanks to a recent surge that means they are in good shape in their bid to claim back-to-back post-season opportunities for the first time in franchise history.
They are two games back in the wild-card race. They are 2 1/2 back of the NL West-leading Dodgers, and just a game behind the Diamondbacks for second place in the division.
And the schedule is on the Rockies' side. The Rockies have nine remaining with the NL West-leading Dodgers (three at home and six at Dodger Stadium), and seven games left with the Diamondbacks (four at Coors Field and three in Arizona), who have a one-game lead on the Rockies in the NL West, and are in third place in the wild-card race. The Rockies are fourth.
The Rockies also still have three games against the Brewers in Milwaukee (Aug. 3-5), and the final week of the regular-season host the Phillies for four games. The Rockies are in fourth place in the wild-card battle, but just 2 1/2 games behind he Brewers, two back of the Phillies and the one game behind the Diamondbacks.
Position to Make a Run at October
| NL Wild Card | W | L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brewers | 57 | 45 | 0.559 | |
| Phillies | 55 | 44 | 0.556 | - |
| D-Backs | 55 | 46 | 0.545 | 1 |
| Rockies | 53 | 46 | 0.535 | 2 |
| Pirates | 52 | 49 | 0.515 | 4 |
| Giants | 51 | 50 | 0.505 | 5 |
| Cardinals | 50 | 50 | 0.5 | 5.5 |
| Nationals | 49 | 50 | 0.495 | 6 |
| Reds | 44 | 56 | 0.44 | 11.5 |
| Marlins | 43 | 59 | 0.422 | 13.5 |
| Mets | 40 | 57 | 0.412 | 14 |
| Padres | 42 | 61 | 0.408 | 15 |
| ---------- | ||||
| NL West | W | L | Pct | GB |
| Dodgers | 56 | 44 | 0.56 | - |
| D-Backs | 55 | 46 | 0.545 | 1.5 |
| Rockies | 53 | 46 | 0.535 | 2.5 |
| Giants | 51 | 50 | 0.505 | 5.5 |
| Padres | 42 | 61 | 0.408 | 15.5 |
The key is apparent -- the pitching staff. It was a struggle on the mound that was the primary culprit during the Rockies' June swoon. The Rockies have had a losing record in two months -- 1-2 in March, when they opened with three games in Arizona, and then 11-16 in June. And what did those two months have in common?
In the brief sample of March the Rockies had a 6.48 ERA. In the June struggle the Rockies had a 6.20 ERA. The Rockies have had an ERA below 4.50 in every other month.
In April, May and July, in which the Rockies are a combined 41-28 going into Tuesday's game against the Astros, the team ERA is 4.10 -- more than two runs lower than March and June combined.
The Arms Race
| Team | W | L | Pct | SvOP | IP | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 1-1 | 25 | 1 | 16 | 28 | 6.48 |
| April | 14 | 13 | 0.519 | 9-14 | 238 | 28 | 91 | 228 | 4.35 |
| May | 15 | 11 | 0.577 | 9-13 | 234 | 32 | 78 | 207 | 4.27 |
| June | 11 | 16 | 0.407 | 7-13 | 241 | 41 | 107 | 247 | 6.2 |
| July | 12 | 4 | 0.75 | 6-8 | 141 | 9 | 51 | 125 | 3.38 |
| Total | 53 | 46 | 0.535 | 32-49 | 879 | 111 | 343 | 835 | 4.73 |
By contrast, the Rockies hit a combined .270 between those three games in March and the 27 games in June. That's 13 points higher than the season average. The Rockies .272 average in June alone is the second highest of any month to the .288 the Rockies have hit so far in July
The Swing of Things
| Monthly | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 3 | 102 | 12 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 34 | 2-2 | 0.245 | 0.764 |
| April | 27 | 876 | 103 | 193 | 36 | 5 | 27 | 98 | 95 | 243 | 16-23 | 0.22 | 0.666 |
| May | 26 | 900 | 120 | 232 | 39 | 8 | 34 | 115 | 85 | 219 | 18-20 | 0.258 | 0.757 |
| June | 27 | 940 | 153 | 256 | 56 | 5 | 36 | 148 | 71 | 237 | 6-16 | 0.272 | 0.785 |
| July | 16 | 553 | 97 | 159 | 31 | 7 | 25 | 92 | 48 | 117 | 11-13 | 0.288 | 0.85 |
| Total | 99 | 3371 | 485 | 865 | 164 | 25 | 129 | 465 | 306 | 850 | 53-74 | 0.257 | 0.757 |
Interleague play doesn't figure to have a major impact, although the Diamondbacks are 4-4 against the AL teams this year, and they do have 12 games remaining against AL West teamS, the most of any team in the NL West.
Inter-League Intrigue
| Dodgers (6-4) |
|---|
| Remaining |
| vs. Hou Aug. 3-4-5 |
| at Oak Aug. 7-8 |
| at Sea Aug. 17-18-19 |
| at Tex Aug. 28-29 |
| Diamondbacks (4-4) |
| vs. Tex July 30-31 |
| at Tex Aug. 13-14 |
| vs. LAA Aug. 21-22 |
| vs. Sea Aug. 24-25-26 |
| at Hou Sept. 14-15-16 |
| Rockies (7-4) |
| vs. Hou, Tues, Wed |
| vs. Oak, Fri, Sat, Sun |
| at Hou, Aug. 14-15 |
| at LAA Aug. 27-28 |
| Giants (5-8) |
| at Sea, Tues, Wed |
| vs. Hou Aug. 6-7 |
| vs. Tex Aug. 24-25-26 |
| Padres (2-8) |
| vs.LAA Aug. 13-14-15 |
| vs. Sea Aug. 28-29 |
| at Sea Sept. 11-12 |
| vs. Tex Sept. 14-15-16 |